thegraverunnersguildfandomcom-20200216-history
TRP: Finch, Larkin, and Raef (Business Partners)
'MINK ' 279 Setting: Red Gryphon Larkin was fuckin' difficult to track down and they'd just got back to the damn area. The place looked to have grown in the time they were away, or maybe he was spoiled by a ship and castle. It took him nearly three hours of wandering to finally managed it and then he found her outside of the Red Gryphon. If that wasn't a fuckin' twist of fate he didn't know what was. "Need a new building?" Raef asked, stepping up behind and to the right of Larkin. She could probably gut him, but she also probably paid attention to her surroundings. 'JEN ' She turned around at his voice. Hadn't heard him coming, the sneaky fuck, but it took more than that to startle Larkin fucking Basha. She grinned and went for the hug. "Hey," she said. "What're you fucking stalking me for?" 'MINK ' Shit. It wasn't like it'd been all that long, but the hug was returned. Raef squeezed and patted her back before letting go. "What? Maybe I just wanted to say 'hi'." He snorted. He didn't, but it was a damn good bonus. 'JEN ' "Sure." Larkin smirked. "I can smell people wanting something from me. A mile against the wind." 'MINK ' "Damn good sniffer." Raef smiled, but it dropped soon after. "You got time for a chat?" 'JEN ' "For you, anytime." Larkin waved at the building in front of them. "I'm done here anyway. For now." 'MINK ' Raef glanced towards the Red Gryphon, but his gaze didn't linger. Good memories - painful memories - there. "Lunch, then?" 'JEN ' "Sure" 'MINK ' Raef led the way to the Crooked Coin; it was about the only bar that he knew wasn't always shitty. It was also easy to get to and easy to order in. Once there he dropped into a booth in the corners, secluded and they could keep an eye on the people in the room. Larkin probably didn't want her business out for everyone to know, and it had been awhile since he'd been in Skyport. Shit changed. "How's business?" he asked after sending a waitress away with their orders. 'JEN ' "Eh." Larkin waved it off. "As usual. Not shitty but not brilliant either." 'MINK ' Raef tapped his fingers lightly on his thigh. "Need any help?" 'JEN ' The simple answer was yes. They did need the help. The Redbird suffered from not having enough high ranking people to command the troops, and there were barely any smart and trustworthy enough to fill the positions. Raef would be a perfect fit, if that was what he wanted. The less simple point, though, was that working for Larkin and Finch was a big fucking health risk. Not really the right job for a man with a freshly resurrected husband and a child. Larkin considered this and instead of answering directly, asked, "why?" 'MINK ' Raef didn't answer right away, looking at Larkin, but not really seeing her as he thought over his words. Why was fuckin' difficult - there were lots of reasons why. The problem was admitting shit. "I need somethin' to do," he said, finally. "I can't do - "he waved his hand - "whatever the fuck it is that's goin' on for the rest of my life." 'JEN ' "Hm." Larkin nodded, slowly. She got that. Some people weren't made for sitting idle. Watching kids and leading a peaceful life and shit. Raef was no different then... or maybe he had been, once. But no more. "Well, you know, my problem is," she said, "I wouldn't want you on street level. You're to valuable for that. But anyone up in the ranks-" she clicked her tongue. "Likely to become a target. Their family, too." 'MINK ' "We've already been targets." The difference between then and now was that he had Hansel, and Goro, and Jasper, and other people who have a shit about his family other than him. The difference was that now he wasn't going to let his family slip through his fingers. 'JEN ' "True. It's just adding new enemies." Larkin waved it off. "So, well. What'd you have in mind?" 'MINK ' "Mmhmm." Raef chuckled a little and leaned back into the booth. "Anythin' you want...but I'm shit with negotiations." 'JEN ' "How're you with giving orders?" 'MINK ' Raef smirked. "Pretty fuckin' good." 'JEN ' "Excellent." Larkin ginned. "'cause I really fucking need someone with more than just shit for brains. Help us run the show. Make plans 'n shit, and shoo the runts around." 'MINK ' "I can do whatever your heart desires." Raef returned the grin. "How many runts you got?" 'JEN ' "Hmm, you know just what to say to a lady." Larkin stuck her tongue out at him. "We're not that many yet. Two dozen and a handful. There are some gangs that owe us interest in our territory but they're not strictly Redbirds." 'MINK ' Raef winked. "Need some help with that? A lady should have a couple of more runnin' around." 'JEN ' "You got any ideas?" 'MINK ' "I dunno...what d'ya wanna do with your business?" 'JEN ' Larkin tilted her head from side to side, thinking. "Alright, so... well. I'm gonna be level with you, Raef." She put her palms on the table, grimacing slightly. "When I say things aren't shitty, I mean we're not a sinking ship. Finch seems to think it is but we're really just way down at the bottom of the ladder. We gotta climb first." She drummed her fingers on the wood. "See, I'd fucking love to say we wanna be the biggest, meanest in town again but realistically, it'd be fucking great if we can hold the turf we got now. So what I want is one-" Larkin held up on finger, "stability. And two- respect. Those we need before we can go anywhere big. I got plans with Haeth for some nice smuggling deals but we ain't got the buyers yet either." 'MINK ' Raef hooked his ankles together as he listened to Larkin. He didn't answer right away. It had been a long fuckin' time since he had worked any sort of business like this, or kind of like this, but he'd do what he had to. "I can help get you respect." Stability was different - maybe he could help, maybe he couldn't. "But you're gonna have to show me what you have. Where're you workin' out of?" 'JEN ' "Well," Larkin said with a sigh, "Finch's bunker. Mostly. We ain't no fucking guild so we don't have a headquarters or something." 'MINK ' Raef waved his hand at the mention of not having a headquarters. "We didn't have one either." The guild had been relegated to a shitty stone room by the time he'd joined. "What I'm gettin' at is...do you have anything written?" He quirked an eyebrow and smiled. " Or're you gonna give me a lecture?" 'JEN ' She laughed. "Oh, huh. If you want notes, you gotta talk to Finch. He's the one with all the paperwork." 'MINK ' "I think I'd rather be lectured." Raef snorted light laughter. He didn't know Finch...but it looked like he was gonna have to get to know him. "But I guess I can be a good boy and talk to him." 'JEN ' "I'll introduce you. He's a big fucking grump but you might actually get along." 'MINK ' "Are you saying I'm a grump?" Raef teased. 'JEN ' "No." Larkin chuckled. "You're a fucking sunshine compared to Finch." 'MINK ' Raef laughed. "You know how to stroke a man's ego." He was going to like working with her, or for her. "When I should I start?" 'JEN ' Heh. There was a joke here to make but Larkin guessed she'd better stay professional for just a minute longer. They seemed to be at the end of their discussion anyway. "Whenever you want. Right now would be perfect." 'MINK ' Raef grinned. "You got it." He unhooked his ankles. "Just give me your orders." 'JEN ' "I don't have any at the moment," she admitted. "I was looking to buy the Red Gryphon. Get us started with some real money but Finch is saying funds are too tight." She rolled her eyes. "We gotta make investments, though. Anyway. I think it's best if we go talk to Finch first, except... you got any good ideas how to make money fast?" 'MINK ' Raef drummed his fingers on the seat beside him. "How much do you need?" he asked, words paced out slowly as he thought. 'JEN ' "All we can get." 'MINK ' "How much do you want to keep it...lawful?" 'JEN ' Larkin just laughed. 'MINK ' "Could kill someone." Raef arched an eyebrow, smiling a little, but he rolled his shoulders in a shrug. "Quickest way is stealing shit." 'JEN ' "Yeah, but without anything big to catch, stealing is just peanuts." 'MINK ' "Find a big catch." Raef shrugged. "I'll find a fucker for you." 'JEN ' "Oh?" She grinned. "Now I like the sound of that." 'MINK ' "Mmhmm." Raef smiled and made an 'X' over his heart. "I'll get it done." Easy. Or as easy as Skyport made it. 'JEN ' "Perfect. Man, I'm glad you stepped up." Larkin held out a hand to clasp around Raef's. "We fucking need you." 'MINK ' Raef grinned and wrapped his hand around Larkin's, squeezing. "Thanks for lettin' me. This'll be good." 'JEN ' "Okay, so." Larkin let go and drummed her fingers on the table again, excited. "Guess we better go tell Finch the good news. Sooner rather than later. You free?" 'MINK ' "Yeah. I've plenty of time." Raef pushed himself up from the table and tugged at his clothing to smooth it. He grinned at Larkin. "Let's go surprise your friend." 'JEN ' --- Larkin took Raef to the bunker on a roundabout way. This whole situation with Finch sitting in his hidey hole with no real protection and no way to escape was splinters under her nails. Any time she went there, she made sure no one was following. Once there she banged on the door, then again in the sequence that'd tell Finch it was her. Her or someone who'd found out the pattern. Not good but it had to be good enough. 'IZZY ' Finch Sent to Larkin, The hell do you want. 'JEN ' "Let me in, asshole!" she yelled. 'IZZY ' There was some clattering inside, and after a moment the door cracked open. Finch peered out into the sunlight, looking groggy and rumpled and pissed off. As soon as he saw there was someone else with Larkin, he scowled and glared between them. "The fuck," he grumbled. "Who the fuck." 'JEN ' "What, you can't even get a complete sentence out?" Larkin got a foot into the door, then made to shove past Finch. She stopped before inside, though, and grimaced. "Fuck, man. What's that stink? Ew, fuck. It's you." 'IZZY ' He kept grumbling, but reluctantly backed off and let them in, still eyeballing this random elf fucker. "S'what happens when you fuckin' drop by unannounced, motherfucker." It'd been a while since he'd cleaned up. The bed against the back wall was all fucked up, the sheets tangled up, and the blankets on the couch where Jonn had been sleeping were tidy, but there were empty bottles and containers of food tossed on top because Jonn hadn't shown his face since yesterday. Slept at Asya's or something, maybe. The wardrobe in the corner was cracked open with clothes leaking out of it onto the floor, and the lamp on the desk was the only light source -- Finch dropped down at the desk chair, scrubbing his face in the light and giving a disdainful look to his scattered work. Hm. Coffee from yesterday. He took a sip, and it was fucking horrific, but he grimaced and forced it down anyway, then looked back to the two fuckers interrupting his sleep/hangover. 'MINK ' Finch made Goro look secure as fuck by the time they got to the bunker and got the door open. The smell that came out was as bad as the sight, and damn near as bad as Finch. He only recalled seeing him maybe once and he wasn't certain Finch had looked this...rough...then. Raef followed Larkin into the bunker, staying close, but not enough to crowd her or look like he didn't know what the fuck he was doing. "Good to meet you, too," he said dryly, glancing over the desk that Finch was sitting at. It was a fuckin' mess. 'IZZY ' Finch grunted. 'JEN ' "Fuck, man. Fucking pick yourself up, will ya?" Larkin paced around the room and kicked a pile of clothes. She shook her head. "Anyway. This-" she returned to Raef and gestured at him. "Is Raef. Your new lieutenant." 'IZZY ' He grunted again. "The fuck he is." 'MINK ' "Yeah, the fuck I am." The corner of his lips quirked. Larkin had been generous with her description of Finch. "I'm gonna need to..." Raef glanced towards the piles of paperwork. "...look at whatever the fuck you have." 'IZZY ' Finch narrowed his eyes and slapped a hand over his work, shoving some of the mess away from whatever-his-fuckin'-name-was. Raef. The hell kind of a name was that shit. "Larkin, what the fuck," he grumbled, glaring at Raef but refusing to talk to him. "How do we trust this fucker? Who the hell even is he?" Fuck, he did look kind of familiar, though. Finch was still sleepy, and hungover. It was right on the edge of -- ahh, shit. Shit. He was one of the Runners, yeah. Finch had watched from the porch as Raef had buried Gwydion, and when Jonn had come out to sit with him again, he'd stood up fast and dragged Jonn back inside so he wouldn't ... see. Fuck. That's who this was. Right. 'JEN ' "We trust him 'cause I vouch for him," Larkin snapped. She knew Finch's whole deal, his attitude, his distrust, his tendency to live in fucking filth when he got too much into a things but this- this was extreme. It started to grate on her nerves. "You think I'm just gonna drag anyone in here and declare 'em headman? Fuck, who the hell you think you're talking to?" She sneered at Finch but continued before he could get an answer in. "He's one of the Runners. He's sharp, he's mean, and he's gonna help us keep this shit show running." 'IZZY ' Finch growled and glared at her and drank more of his fucking awful coffee. It wasn't like she was wrong. She had just as much authority over vetting people as he did. He just didn't fucking appreciate the surprise, and he didn't want to fucking buckle in front of this guy. "I'll give him a job to prove himself," he allowed grudgingly, still talking like Raef wasn't even there. "He's gonna have to earn this shit. We can't just fuckin' deputize any motherfucker off the goddamn street." 'JEN ' Larkin scowled at that but waved it through anyway. "Raef's gonna help us score some cash. Should be good enough." 'MINK ' Raef listened to the exchange, lips thinned in a suppressed, amused smile. He didn't blame Finch for being paranoid in this job, but, fuck, if the back and forth wasn't at least a little funny. "What job you thinkin' of?" he asked, smiling a little now and arching an eyebrow. He should've been offended, but he'd seen this shit while in Alabaster. 'IZZY ' Finch hunched over, squinting, appraising Raef. Tiny motherfucker, like Lark and Jonn. He might be your average cat burglar, or he might have some more tricks up his sleeve -- yeah, he probably did, for Larkin to bring him straight in. They didn't need another Jonn; they needed someone with something special to bring to the table. He jerked his chin at Raef. "You got some magic or something?" 'MINK ' "Yeah, I got 'some magic or something'." 'IZZY ' "You're gonna have to be more fucking specific," Finch growled. "What are you good for, motherfucker." 'JEN ' "Hey!" Larkin stepped forward and slapped a hand on the desk. "Fucking cut it, yeah? He's doing us a favour here. You got no reason to be such a fucking dick." 'IZZY ' "I need more fucking information!" Finch snapped back. He was always dick. Larkin fucking knew that. She could goddamn deal with it. 'MINK ' Finch had a way of getting under people's skin and Raef had to bite his tongue. "I'm really fuckin' good at killin' things," he answered, tone cool. "And I'm really fuckin' good at getting whatever I fuckin' want." 'JEN ' Larkin groaned and put a hand to her face. 'IZZY ' Finch glared at him. God, he fuckin' hated this guy just on principle, now. "Fine." He dropped his mug on the desk and riffled through some papers, finding what he wanted. "Fine. This fucker." He shoved a tightly-wound, wax-sealed scroll at Raef. "Geof Berman. I need him fuckin' dead. He's this fucking rich bastard looking to fund a street gang and he picked some punks we don't like, and he won't be fucking reasoned with. Show his skeevy fucking friends what happens when they tell the Redbirds no." 'MINK ' Raef took the scroll and rolled it between his fingers. He popped open the wax. "This all?" he asked, partly to fuck with Finch. The guy was a dick. At least killin' a rich fucker was already on his list and now Finch had given him a name. That made this easy. 'IZZY ' Finch flipped him off. 'JEN ' Okay, well. They were getting there, at least. Larkin wandered over to the couch, snatching the obligatory bottle of liquor off Finch's desk, and plopped down in a spot free of junk. 'MINK ' Raef winked at Finch as he unfurled the scroll. He read it, rolled it, and handed it back. "When do you got to bed?" 'IZZY ' Finch narrowed his eyes. "The fuck is that supposed to mean?" If Larkin had said some shit about him and Jonn, he swore to Mask -- 'MINK ' "Just don't want to wake you up when I get your job done." 'IZZY ' "Ugh." He dragged his hand down his face. "Just fucking ... report to Larkin. Or Jonn. Whatever." 'JEN ' On the couch, Larkin sighed and shook her head. "Yeah, you can report to me. Finch is-" she waved a hand at the general mess. "busy." They'd have to do something about that, and soon. She didn't think Raef would drop out just because Finch had turned into a fucking molerat but if any of the other gangsters saw how bad it was... it was no way to earn some fucking respect. Finch had to realize that. "I'll show you around the usual meeting places later. We got some drop points for messages and loot you gotta know." 'MINK ' Busy wasn't the fuckin' term he'd use looking at this mess. If Hansel fuckin' knew what Jonn was stuck with...fuck. It was disgusting. "Sounds like a fuckin' plan." A smile tugged at Raef's lips before he walked back towards the couch and dropped onto an arm, avoiding any trash nearby. Thank fuck Larkin was in charge. 'IZZY ' Finch just stared at them both blankly for a beat. Larkin was one thing, but what the fuck. "Why are you both fuckin' sitting down?" he demanded. "Did you fucking want something else? Is this a social call?" He waved his hands at them and grumbled uselessly. 'JEN ' "As it happens- yeah." Larkin kicked a heap of greasy wrapping paper off the couch so she could stretch out. "Raef's gonna be working for us. I want you to get to know our lieutenants. Talk to your people. Be a fucking leader, man." 'IZZY ' He gestured furiously at his desk. "The hell do you think all this is for? My fucking entertainment? You can handle fucking talking to people." 'JEN ' "For fuck's sake, man. You wanna be a gang leader, you gotta let people know who you are. And this-" she threw out a hand, pointing at him- "this ain't getting you any respect. You know how much we need that on the street, yeah?" 'MINK ' "You're fuckin' lucky Larkin's likable and knows what she's doin'," Raef said, cutting through the conversation. He dropped a foot to the floor, nudging aside a trash pile as he stood up again. "Your little birds would eat you alive if they saw this." 'IZZY ' "You're fuckin' lucky I dont electrocute you right goddamn now," Finch snapped, then realized he was just fucking proving Larkin's point. He growled and jabbed his finger at Larkin. "Listen. Am I the only fucking gang leader in this room? No. We're fucking partners, right? Don't expect me to do goddamn everything while you're off --." He gestured angrily, sparks crackling around his fingers. "Fucking around with Eldathyns and orcs and shit." 'JEN ' Larkin scowled, knowing he had a point. Still, that didn't make hers less valid. "It's the fucking minimum, what I'm expecting." 'MINK ' This was a shit show. If it was just Finch...well, he could off, except it was Larkin and she had a brain. She also didn't need to have her ass dragged down because Finch couldn't get his shit together. "Larkin gettin' her ass out there makes fuckin' friends." And you need friends when you're flounderin'. He waved his hand. "I'm gonna go. Gotta get your job done before it gets too late." 'IZZY ' Finch growled at him. "Yeah. Get the fuck out." Hopefully he could actually fucking deliver on his ooh, I always get what I want bullshit, or whatever. Wasn't like they didn't need competent people around. Finch just didn't trust a single goddamn person to be useful until they proved it, because most of them weren't. 'MINK ' ___ Az was going to kill him when he got back to the castle the next day, but, fuck, if it didn't feel good to be on his feet and doing something. Missions were great, but old habits died hard and this time it came with added chances. It had been hard and easy. He ached something fierce, but he felt good. Raef brushed back the strands of hair clinging to the sweat beaded on his forehead and knocked on the door. In his other hand he held a bag. Maybe he'd gone overboard, but maybe he didn't care. 'JEN ' Larkin woke up because someone knocked on the door. She rolled around on the couch and peered over to see who it was. Door was fucking closed, though, and Finch was still hunched over his desk, glaring across the room. "Hey," she said, and pointed. "Door?" "Yeah." Finch glanced over at her and Larkin raised her eyebrows. "What, you want me to open for any knockin' motherfucker out there?" "It's Raef," Larkin said and tilted herself upright. "It's Raef and you know it." Finch just growled and shoved the papers he'd been working on under a ledger while Larkin got to the door. Then she hesitated. "Who's your husband?" She called through the door. 'MINK ' Raef was ready to knock again when Larkin finally asked him a question; he should've memorized the damn knock. "Griffin and Az," he answered as he shifted the bag in his hand. What a fuckin' question. 'JEN ' Larkin opened the door and stepped aside so Finch could see how right she'd been. 'MINK ' Raef stepped inside when the door opened. He waited for it to close before she threw the bag at Finch. "Here, fucker. This good enough for you?" As he said this he fished out a key to give to Larkin. "He's got a safe." 'IZZY ' Finch grumbled and glared as Raef came in, still hunching over his desk. Fuckin' people coming in and bothering him. Larkin looking all fucking smug and shit. Then Raef lobbed a bag at him, and he caught it without thinking -- because it'd hit him in the fucking face, otherwise -- and grimaced as he went to open it. The fuck. He hadn't asked this fucker to bring him anything back, just kill the -- "Geh!" He fumbled the bag and shoved it away, and the fucking mummified head rolled out of it on the floor. "Fuck me. The hell, man. You didn't have to ..." He scoffed. "All right, fine. You're fucking hired." 'JEN ' Larkin snorted at Finch's outburst but she couldn't help staring at the head, too. It was a fucking head. "Ew, what the hell, man," she said. "Y'know that's kinda freaky." 'MINK ' "He had it comin'." Raef walked over to grab the bag do he could place the head back into it; he'd drop it into the water or bury it later. He tied the bag closed. "People'll get the point." 'IZZY ' "Yeah, no fuckin' shit," Finch muttered. Point fucking gotten. The guy knew what he was about. He scooted his chair back towards the desk to get back to work, sullen. "You get paid when we get money. Good job, or fucking whatever," he added, shooting Larkin a look. There. Nice. He could fucking play nice. 'MINK ' "Sounds fuckin' fine by me." Raef started back towards the door, only pausing to drop the key into Larkin's lap. He didn't have enough hands to get into the damn safe and carry out whatever was in it. "I've got some stuff to do in town. Guess I'll see you 'round." 'JEN ' Larkin reached out a hand to catch Raef's, and patted him on the shoulder before he went. "Thanks, man," she said. "Really made quick work of that, yeah? Love it." She forced a little grin. "I'll show you the turf later." 'MINK ' "Anytime." He gave a sort-of smile back. "I'll be in the market." Raef placed a hand on Larkin's shoulder and squeezed. He dropped it away and signed in Nighthand, Thanks for it. He didn't specify before he finally left the bunker, only giving Finch a vague handwave before he closed the door behind him. 'IZZY ' Finch glanced up at them saying their little shady goodbyes. That wasn't thieves' cant. Sort of looked like that language Asya had taught Jonn, actually. He narrowed his eyes at it, then scowled back down at his spellbook. Something else to fucking worry about. He'd need to learn that shit just whenever the fuck he had a minute. Jonn should be able to teach him. He barely registered that Larkin stayed back -- her general existence didn't grate on him the way just about everyone else in the world's did. She could hang around without inherently bothering him. If she started giving him shit about not doing enough again while he was literally fucking working, though -- then he'd get fuckin' annoyed. 'JEN ' "We're lucky Raef's already a friend," Larkin muttered as she sat back down on the couch. "You can't get people on your side by treating 'em like shit." 'IZZY ' He scowled more furiously and muttered, "Yeah, well, if you don't want people treated like shit, you probably shouldn't fucking bring them to me." 'JEN ' "Oh yeah? What, you thought you could run this show without ever fucking talking to your gang? Well I got fucking news for you, buddy. You're a boss now, you know what that means?" 'IZZY ' "Don't fucking condescend to me," he snapped, slamming his pen down and spinning on her. "It means all of this, is what it fucking means, Lark." He gestured furiously to the desk. "It means not fucking sleeping because you're trying to work out how to make it look like you got more people than you do so you can avoid a street fight instead of losing kids in it, and trying to get leverage on a leatherworker so you can fucking afford actual boots for the baby birds, and it means decrypting their horrible fucking illiterate-ass handwriting to put together a cohesive goddamn picture of the townhouse they're scouting, trying to keep records of what they're all good at, except, fucking surprise, none of'em are actually good at shit -- means sending Jonn out to train them and then not eating all fucking day because he ain't around to being me food, and I can't fucking --." He choked on that one a second, but he was pissed enough to shove through it. "Can't fucking leave alone, because it's too fucking dangerous out there, and maybe if I learn a few more fucking spells then I could do it, but who can fucking learn magic when you're starving and have a fucktillion other things to do and you haven't slept in forty fucking hours -- and hey!" he snarled. "Then you finally manage a fucking nap, and your partner shows up and decides to bitch at you for not goddamn doing enough. Apparently that's what being the fucking boss means." 'JEN ' Larkin tried a few times to get a word in but Finch just fucking waltzed over her. At the end of it she had her teeth grit, her fingers digging into the stuffing of the couch. Didn't say anything, though. He'd not listen. He'd just... go at it again. God dammit, though. Larkin hadn't seen Finch this angry since... since he'd gotten out of prison, beaten half to death and... Larkin stopped staring him down and wiped a hand over her face. "Fuck, man." She said it quietly. "You gotta... shit." 'IZZY ' "I gotta fucking what?" he demanded. "What else do I have to fucking do?" 'JEN ' "Talk to me. I- it's not just you. We're fucking partners, alright, you gotta let me know this shit before-" she jerked a hand his direction and huffed. 'IZZY ' He opened his mouth and closed it. The wind kind of went out of his fucking sails. Right. Right, right, right. Well ... still fuck that. He turned back to his desk, finding it hard to say anything else after all that, and rested his face in one hand. "I've got it," he muttered after a second. "It's fucking handled. Just don't fucking come in here and give me more shit. I'm at fucking capacity." 'JEN ' "It's not fucking handled. I'm... fuck, man." Larkin got up and paced over to Finch, standing a few feet away and looking at the ground. "Look, I'm sorry, alright? For giving you shit. But I'm not being a dick for no reason, yeah? I want us to fucking succeed. If you need more help I'll get it." 'IZZY ' "I don't need any fucking help." He rubbed at his face. Yeah, he'd never been a good enough liar to sell that shit, much less now. He could keep fuckin' insisting that it was handled, but it was just gonna come out weak. 'JEN ' "Then why don't you go outside and get your own fucking food?" It was a low blow but it made the point. 'IZZY ' "Because --." He bit it off before he could get any further. "Fuck you," he said lowly. 'JEN ' "Yeah, fuck me, fuck Raef, fuck everyone." Larkin growled. "Fucking Avis got it handled, no problem at all. He's just having a teeny-tiny fucking breakdown over having to be not a shithead." 'IZZY ' Finch threw his pen at her over his shoulder, growling. 'JEN ' Larkin fumbled to catch it and hurled it right back at Finch. 'IZZY ' "Fuck you!" The pen clattered on the table. This wasn't fucking accomplishing shit. "If you're just here to fucking piss me off, congratu-fucking-lations. Thanks for all the goddamn help, Larkin." 'JEN ' "Oh, now you want help?" Larkin sneered. "I thought you didn't need it? Got it all handled, no? Well, fine." She threw up her hands and turned to walk to the door. "I'll just fucking take my contacts, my money, the Intel, the people I brought in- oh, don't forget my bloody bandages from the street fights, don't want those cluttering up your bunker, yeah? " 'IZZY ' "Sure, fine. See if you can fucking make it without me," he spat. This was bad. This was really fucking bad. He needed to say something else. She needed to come back. He -- "Go fuck yourself." Right. 'JEN ' "Sure, man." Larkin opened the door. She paused there and thought about turning back but- well, fuck him. "Whatever." 'JEN ' End Title: Business Partners Summary: Raef goes to aks Larkin for a job with the Redbirds. She agrees and takes him to meet Finch. It goes downhill from there. Category:Text Roleplay